The following contains spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, now playing in theaters.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever finished with a final fight no one could have expected. Shuri took on the role of Black Panther using an artificial version of the heart-shaped herb. When the film's big climax rolled around, she had found a reason to want Namor dead, and she held nothing back. What resulted was a fight that dwarfed even what Captain America: Civil War produced when Iron Man and Captain America fought tooth and nail.

While the battle between the Wakandans and Talokans interrupted the fight between Black Panther and Namor, it ended up necessary. When a battle is as vicious as this one, the audience needs a break to access what they are seeing. The character journey Shuri experienced, from a happy and enthusiastic scientist to a princess seeking bloody vengeance, made this final fight something fans never saw coming. In the end, it was one that almost destroyed Marvel's newest hero.

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Black Panther 2's Shuri & Namor Feud Is Fierce

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s Shuri and Namor.

In Black Panther, Shuri, the little sister of King T'Challa of Wakanda, arrived. She was his top scientist, and as she said in Wakanda Forever, he taught her everything she knew. Over time, she surpassed him, and she set out to save him when he fell ill with a mysterious disease. As this movie showed, she failed, and her beloved brother and king died. This sent her into a depression where she felt that, when her brother died, she died with him. After this, she met a kindred spirit in Namor. He also suffered through losses in his life, his mother dying and the world proving it was a dark, evil place. The two had something in common. Both wanted the world to burn after taking away their loved ones.

However, Shuri and Namor fell out when Queen Ramonda sent in Nakia to bring her daughter back home and the Wakandan warrior killed a Talokan woman. This sent Namor into a rage when he realized Wakanda attacked him in his land, and he came for revenge. He killed Ramonda, and this sent Shuri to a dark place. With her brother dead and Namor killing her mother, she wanted nothing more than to kill the King of Talokan. When Shuri took the heart-shaped herb to become the Black Panther, she didn't see her ancestors. She saw Killmonger, and Shuri set out to retrace his footsteps rather than that of her brother, T'Challa. She wanted to destroy everyone that hurt her.

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Shuri & Namor's Final Battle Is More Intense Than Iron Man vs. Captain America

Captain America and Iron Man in Captain America Civil War

The final battle ended up as brutal as anyone could have expected. Shuri took on the Black Panther role and risked Wakanda to get her revenge. There were several casualties on the Wakandan side, and it was all because Shuri didn't care about anything but killing Namor. Meanwhile, Namor had a more honorable goal. In a surprise for a villain in an MCU movie, he only wanted to protect his people. Wakanda proved responsible for people finding evidence of his kingdom, and he had an entire community of people to protect. He went at it in the worst way possible when his plan was murdering Riri Williams. He also went over the line when he killed Queen Ramonda. It was an interesting contrast to the first appearance of Black Panther.

In Captain America: Civil War, T'Challa believed that Winter Soldier murdered his father, and he wanted revenge. That allowed him to join Iron Man's side in the war. That movie ended with what was arguably the most brutal fight in the MCU, but it had nothing to do with the Black Panther. Instead, it was Iron Man fighting Captain America. Iron Man wanted nothing more than to kill Winter Soldier for his own parents' deaths. However, Cap was there to stand in his way, and the two fought a brutal fight before Cap and Winter Soldier finally made Iron Man yield. In the end, Black Panther showed mercy and took in Winter Soldier to cure him, rather than kill him. Shuri emulated Iron Man and set out to kill her enemy.

However, Shuri went a lot further than Iron Man in his battle with Cap and Winter Soldier. It shockingly looked like Namor would get the win when he threw his spear right through Shuri's abdomen. She survived thanks to the heart-shaped herb. After this, Shuri jumped Namor from behind and ripped off one of the wings from his feet. She had already weakened him with solar energy, taking away much of his strength, and was relentless in her attack. She detonated an explosion and almost killed Namor. Shuri then went for the kill. In the end, she wanted to be like T'Challa. In an opposite turn from Civil War, where Iron Man yielded, here it was Namor who yielded after Shuri promised to protect his secret. Just like T'Challa, Shuri protected the man who was her enemy. While the fight was more intense than even the one in Civil War, it allowed Shuri's decision to mean even more in the end.